Court Acquits Senator Nwaoboshi of N322m Fraud Charge

By John Ikani

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday discharged and acquitted a Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi, charged with laundering N322 millon.

Justice Aneke held that the EFCC failed to call vital witnesses and tender concrete evidence to prove the elements of the offences for which it charged the defendants.

Background

Nwaoboshi, who represents Delta North on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, was arraigned in 2018, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on two counts of money laundering.

Charged along with the senator were two companies – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd. and Suiming Electrical Ltd.

In the two-count charge marked FHC/L/117C/18., the EFCC alleged that the defendants committed the offence between May and June 2014, in Lagos.

Nwaoboshi was said to have acquired a property described as Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa Lagos, for the sum of N805million.

The senator had pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail.

Trial commenced before Justice Mohammed Idris on April 25, 2015, but following the elevation of Idris to the Court of Appeal in June 2018, the case began afresh on Oct. 5, 2018 before Aneke.

The prosecution said he reasonably ought to have known that N322million out of the purchase sum formed part of proceeds of an unlawful act.

The sum was said to have been transferred to the vendors by order of Suiming Electrical Ltd.

Suiming Electrical was alleged to have on May 14, 2014, aided Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch to commit money laundering.

The alleged offence, according to the EFCC, contravened the provisions of sections 15(2)(d), 15 (3) and 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

Ruling

in his judgment Friday, Justice Aneke held, among others, that the evidence led by Prosecution Witness (PW1) Prince Kpokpogri was based on a call from an anonymous caller adding that he did not tender the documents supplied to him by the said anonymous witness who was also never called as a witness to testify.

He held that the evidence of the first prosecution witness could therefore only qualify as hearsay.

He noted further that the computer-generated statement of account, sought to be tendered by PW3, Eyitayo Moigbemtere, was rejected on the ground that it did not comply with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

Aneke held: “Apart from the first element of the offence charged in count 1, which has not been proven. i.e. that the first and second defendants acquired Guinea House, Marine Road, Apapa Lagos, none of the other ingredients of count one as stated above has been proven.

“How could they have been proven when the statement of account of the third defendant’s bank was tendered and rejected in evidence?

“The rejection of the said statement of account means that any fact concerning or relating to the N322m paid by the third defendant to the Delta State Government could not be proven.

“When this is coupled with the fact that bank officials were not called to testify on and properly tender Exhibit F and F1…, the prosecution’s case collapsed.”

On count 2, the judge noted that the ingredients of the offence charged in count one have to be proven before the third defendant could be found guilty of aiding the first and second defendant to commit the offence charged.

He added: “That is to say that the offence of aiding cannot be committed when the primary or principal offence as contained in count 1 has not been proven.

“The result is that the prosecution’s case is dismissed and all the three defendants are accordingly discharged and acquitted.”

During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses.

The defence called no witnesses but rather rested its case on that of the prosecution.

Mr. Wemimo Ogunde, SAN, represented the EFCC; Jimoh Lasisi, SAN, Emeka Okpoko, SAN, and C.B.Ipeazu, SAN, for Nwaoboshi; and Charles Nmarkwe represented Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd.